By CQ Staff

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama has opened up a wide lead over New York Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic contest in New Hampshire, while Arizona Sen. John McCain ’s contest with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is closer, according to a new round of polls today.

Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards is looking less and less competitive on the Democratic side in the state, while former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is a distant third on the GOP side, showing little or no bump from his Iowa caucus victory.

The Gallup Poll weighed in this morning with news that Obama now enjoys a 41 percent to 28 percent lead over Clinton, with whom he was in a tie last month. Edwards is at 19 percent. Obama is doing particularly well among Independents, who can vote in either party’s primary, and according to another poll – by Rasmussen Reports – that is causing some problems for McCain because he not only is competing against Romney for Republican votes, but against Obama for Independent votes.

Gallup says “the largest shift came in Democratic voters’ views of the candidate who ‘has the best chance of beating the Republican in November.’ Obama jumped by 19 points on this dimension between the two polls, while Clinton fell by 13 points.”

McCain leads Romney 34 percent to 30 percent, a reversal from mid-December when Romney had a 34 percent to 27 percent advantage. Like Obama, McCain has benefited by an increased perception that he is the GOP candidate with the best chance of winning the general election.

The margin of error in the Gallup surveys is 4 percent.

The Rasmussen poll says that Obama is poised to win a “sizable victory” in New Hampshire while the McCain-Romney contest is too close to call.

A new Zogby poll has Obama ahead of Clinton 39 percent to 29 percent, with Edwards at 19 percent. McCain leads Romney 34 percent to 29 percent. The margin of error is 3.4 percent.

American Research Group has Obama ahead of Clinton 39 percent to 28 percent, with Edwards at 22 percent. McCain leads Romney 35 percent to 27 percent. The margin of error is 4 percent.